About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

D17017 1 (2017-07-25)

handle is hein.gao/gaobadtqf0001 and id is 1 raw text is: cO U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Washington, DC 20548 July 25, 2017 Mr. Matthew Waldron Technical Director International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board 529 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10017 GAO's Response to the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board's April 2017 Exposure Draft, Proposed International Standard on Auditing 540 (Revised), Auditing Accounting Estimates and Related Disclosures Dear Mr. Waldron: This letter provides GAO's response to the exposure draft, Proposed International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 540 (Revised), Auditing Accounting Estimates and Related Disclosures (ED-540). GAO promulgates generally accepted government auditing standards, which provide professional standards for auditors of government entities in the United States. We support the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board's (IAASB) efforts to update the standards for auditing accounting estimates. However, we believe that the proposed standard could benefit from linking the audit procedures in paragraph 15(a) to the audit evidence required to be obtained in paragraphs 17 through 20. We believe that this approach will increase the clarity of the standard and will make it easier for auditors to effectively apply. Further, we suggest that the IAASB consider grouping the guidance in paragraphs 17 through 20 by procedures that evaluate evidence related to methods, data, and assumptions. We have found this approach to be useful in our audits of complex estimates in the federal government and believe that it may be easier to apply than the approach described in the proposed standard, which is organized by the factors complexity, judgment, and estimation uncertainty. Our responses to IAASB's specific questions follow. We believe that our suggestions will enhance the consistency of the standard with those promulgated by other standard setters. Specific Comments Overall Questions 1) Has ED-540 been appropriately updated to deal with evolving financial reporting frameworks as they relate to accounting estimates? We support the IAASB's efforts to update ED-540 to address evolving financial reporting frameworks as they relate to accounting estimates. As indicated above, we agree with the requirements related to obtaining sufficient appropriate audit evidence in paragraphs 17 through 20. However, we believe that these requirements should be linked to the audit procedures in paragraph 15(a). Page 1

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most